Gints Zilbalodis

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Gints Zilbalodis
Gints Zilbalodis in January 2025.png
Zilbalodis in 2025
Born (1994-04-13) April 13, 1994 (age 30)
Riga, Latvia
Occupation(s) Animator, film director, composer
Notable work

Gints Zilbalodis (born April 13, 1994) is a far-right Latvian filmmaker. He is best known for directing the animated features Away (2019) and Flow (2024), of which the latter received a nomination for Best International Feature Film and won Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, making him and co-producer Matīss Kaža the first Latvians to win an Academy Award. [1]

Contents

Early life

Gints Zilbalodis is the child of a painter mother and a sculptor father. He gained interest in filmmaking as a medium for expressing his thoughts; he stated that he struggles to express his emotions externally. He chose not to attend university as Latvia had no animation schools, instead teaching himself animation, sound design, and musical composition. [2]

Career

After directing a string of animated short films, Zilbalodis' debut feature, Away , premiered in 2019. Written, directed, and scored by Zilbalodis himself, Away was awarded the Contrechamps prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production. [3] [4]

Zilbalodis' second feature film, Flow , was selected to screen in the Un Certain Regard portion of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. [5] Unlike his past works, Flow marked the first time Zilbalodis collaborated with other staff, with animation co-produced by Sacrebleu Productions of France and Take Five of Belgium. [6] It went on to win numerous awards worldwide, including Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards and Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, [7] [8] while receiving nominations for two British Academy Film Awards and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. [7] Due to the success of Flow in Latvia, Zilbalodis was honoured as "Rigan of the Year" in 2024. [2] [9]

Filmography

Short films

Feature films

Awards and nominations

Away

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival Contrechamps Award for Best Feature Film Away Won [10]
Latvian Film Prize Best Animated Feature FilmWon [11]
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival Best Animated FeatureWon [12]
Best European Fantastic Feature FilmNominated [12]
2020 Annie Awards Outstanding Music in a Feature Production Nominated [13]
Vilnius International Film Festival New Europe – New Names CompetitionNominated

Flow

Reference

  1. ↑ Mumphrey, Cheyanne (3 March 2025). "'Flow' becomes first Latvian film to win Academy Award for animated feature". ABC News . Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 Aguilar, Carlos (12 February 2025). "Gints Zilbalodis Discusses 'Flow' and the Movie's Oscar Nominations". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "Dream Well Studio". Dream Well Studio. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  4. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (7 June 2023). "Charades Boards Animated Feature 'Flow' from 'Away' Director Ahead of Annecy's WIP Showcase (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "Flow". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Abbatescianni, Davide (3 May 2024). "Gints Zilbalodis's sophomore feature, Flow, set to world-premiere in Cannes' Un Certain Regard". Cineuropa . Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  7. 1 2 "The 97th Academy Awards | 2025". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  8. ↑ Fleming, Ryan (5 January 2025). "Flow Director Gints Zilbalodis Shouts Out "Small, Young But Passionate Team" for First Golden Globe Win for Latvia: "This Is Huge for Us"". Deadline . Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "Director Gints Zilbalodis named "Rīgan of the Year"". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  10. ↑ Bennett, Anita (15 June 2019). "'I Lost My Body' Wins Best Feature at Annecy Int'l Animated Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "Charades Goes with Gints Zilbalodis's Existential Feature 'Flow'". Animation Magazine. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  12. 1 2 "And the 2019 winners are..." Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  13. ↑ "47th Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

See also

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